A Review of Joe’s Garage and Grill in Riverhead

Joe’s Garage and Grill has concrete floors and rows of windows that roll up like garage doors.

Gordon M. Grant for The New York Times

By JOANNE STARKEY

June 27, 2014

Have you ever dined in a garage? Joe’s Garage and Grill, a three-month-old restaurant in Riverhead, comes close to providing that experience. The floor is concrete and the rows of windows roll up like garage doors. The automotive theme continues on the menu, where appetizers are listed under Start Your Engines and sandwiches are referred to as The Pile Up.

The staff, wearing shirts that say Pit Crew, could use a tuneup. Runners delivering the food have no clue about who ordered what. One night, entrees arrived before appetizers were removed. On both visits the tables were never completely cleared, and we ate our desserts while chunks of potato and avocado were still on the table.

When I asked for the prices of wines, I got three different answers. In a telephone call after my visits, a manager could not estimate the number of seats in the restaurant, nor would he take the time to count them. He seemed to be equally perplexed by the number of beers offered.

The food was better than the service, but even here there were some pitfalls. Our favorite opener was an order of the crisply fried oysters, returned to their shells and resting on a bed of crunchy jicama slaw. We also liked the Tokyo Drift Sliders, which were not mini-burgers but steamed buns with a vibrant filling of smoked pork belly, kimchi and cucumber salsa. The steamed mussels, a special, arrived in a big bowl, awash in a wine sauce rife with garlic.

Salads (under the menu heading Eco-Fuel) did not fare as well. The Caesar was ordinary at best. The wedge, a half-head of romaine, had a mere dab of dressing, not nearly enough. A special salad listed as containing green beans, shrimp, heirloom tomatoes, red onion and bacon arrived without tomatoes and bacon. I liked the crisp green beans and firm shrimp but the rest of the salad was tasteless fodder.

The best entree was the half rack of St. Louis ribs. They were smoky, moist, tender and zesty from their dry rub. The accompanying barbecue sauces, three house-made blends, were good but not necessary to flavor the already delicious and well-seasoned meat. The barbecued beef brisket failed to impress; it looked and tasted like a huge pile of dry, bland meat. The pulled pork fell somewhere between the two; neither as dry as the beef nor as tasty as the ribs.

All the entrees we tried came with Joe’s fries. Children, whom the restaurant seems to cater to with its pit-stop vibe, will most likely be disappointed: These fries are thick slices and chunks of deep-fried potatoes. We, too, were not impressed. We longed for less potato and more crunch. Additionally, they were cold when they arrived at the table one night.

Most of the sandwiches we tried were lackluster. The Coup de Ville, a grilled chicken breast sandwich, was dry. Of the two special sandwiches we sampled, there was a respectable lobster roll, while a smoked corned beef Reuben would have passed muster had the bottom slice of bread not been soggy and close to disintegrating.

Dessert was the best course. Winners included a chocolate mousse cake with alternating layers of mousse and cake; a moist brownie topped with salted caramel ice cream; and a s’mores chocolate mousse with marshmallow cream and graham cracker crumbs. One of the special desserts, a tangy Key lime pie, stood out among other specials that were just so-so, like the blueberry pie and the apple cobbler (which has just been changed to peach for the summer). Joe’s Garage and Grill is very popular, probably because of its huge portions and low prices. The restaurant takes reservations only for parties of 10 or more. Go early; we still had a short wait when we arrived at 6 p.m.

THE SPACE The restaurant is in a new building, which faces a large municipal parking lot. There is seating inside and on a patio, with a combined capacity of around 100. There is wheelchair access.

THE CROWD Lots of big groups, including families. There is a children’s menu with five entree choices for $6.95 that include a beverage. The restaurant’s high noise level is fueled by the bar crowd.

THE BAR There is a long L-shaped bar with 20 stools. Cocktails, six bottles of wine ($24 to $30), six glasses of wine ($8), 13 beers on tap ($7) and a large selection of bottled beers ($3 to $6) are available.

THE BILL Lunch and dinner are the same. Entrees range from $9.95 (burger) to $19.95 (lobster roll). The restaurant accepts American Express, Visa, MasterCard and Discover.